Two Knights and a What If
by TwoCousins
Summary: Crossover


Two knights and a What if

Tim was a little afraid to show Bruce what had happened to his hair. It'd been hard enough to convince Bruce to let him go to his friend Corey's party, if his mentor saw him like this, he'd never let him go to another again. Tim passed a mirror in the hallway, sighing at his newly golden locks.

"What the hell happened to your hair?" said a deep voice behind him. Tim froze, trying to decide whether or not Bruce sounded angry. When he turned around sheepishly, relieved when he saw that Bruce looked slightly amused, not livid.

"I…uh…well you see, at the party, it got a little crazy…and I was on a little bit of a sugar high…and we thought it'd be funny…and his mom just left it laying out on the bathroom counter…we tried to wash it out…but…" Tim looked down at his feet.

He heard a sigh. "Well, you can't go out on patrol with me until that washes out. But there's not changing what's already been done."

"What?" cried Tim.

"It'd be a dead giveaway," said Bruce, turning around and walking away. "Don't worry though, I'll find some removal tomorrow."

"I've got that wig Stephanie used last Halloween when she dressed up as Robin, what if I use that?" Bruce turned back to him, an eyebrow raised, looking like he thought it was funny. He was about to say something, when Alfred ran in, looking alarmed.

"Sir, the alarm," said the older gentleman, seeming to be a little out of breath. "In the cave, the Justice League is attempting to contact you."

"Bruce?" Tim pleaded.

"If you hurry about it," Bruce replied hurrying off. "I'm not going to wait long for you," he called over his shoulder.

Five minutes later, Robin dashed into the Bat Cave. Bruce had to admit that, if not for the plastic quality of the wig, it might pass for his natural hair. "What's the emergency?" Robin asked, skidding to a stop inches before plowing into Batman.

"Not sure," he said. "Superman was vague." Batman held his fingers to his ear, activating the com link to the Watch Tower that was in his cowl. "Batman and Robin, ready for transport."

Robin began to feel a little dizzy. Green light covered his eyes. His limbs felt lighter than air, a sound of buzzing filled his ears. His stomach ripped in half. He could no longer feel the ground. Half a second later, he and Batman were standing in the middle of the Watch Tower control center.

"Dude, I am never going to get used to that," he said to himself.

"What's wrong?" asked Connor, his best friend. "Little baby bird afraid of getting scrambled?" Connor, the dork, laughed like he'd just said the wittiest thing in the world. "Hey, where'd your Dad go?"

Robin looked over his shoulder to where Batman had stood just seconds ago. "Bats!" he called out. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Flash darted around to the front of him as Robin spun to see who had tapped him. Not seeing anyone behind him, he felt Flash tap his shoulder again.

"He walked over that way," Flash pointed. "Big Blue and Diana are there too. Real freaked out about some kind of a portal that opened up in the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I think I heard."

"Thanks," Robin said to him, running in the direction that Flash had shown him. Connor floated leisurely above his head.

"So is Bats letting you come with him?" Connor asked. "Kal isn't letting me. Said it was too dangerous."

"Do me a favor and don't mention that in front of…Dad." Robin told him. "I almost didn't convince him to let me come up in the first place."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Connor said, now floating upside down. "Kara said that the portals were spitting out Zombie pigs."

"Zombie pigs?" Robin asked, reaching the threshold of the room Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were in. The big three were staring at a computer screen, which showed a large purple hole in the sky. Clouds swirled around it, lightning flickered from the clouds every now and then. It looked big. They were talking quietly amongst themselves.

"What's going on?" Robin asked, walking up and talking his place by Batman's side. "Flash said something about a portal, and Superboy said something about zombie pigs."

Superman gestured with his chin up at the screen. "That's pretty much exactly what's going on. Except there are more than one hole, and more than just 'zombie pigs' being spat out."

"Like what?" Robin asked. The big three shared a look. Robin had seen that look often enough to know what it meant. It meant they weren't sure that they should share the information with him. Robin crossed his arms, trying to look as much like Batman as he could. Batman noticed and nearly smiled to himself.

"Skeletons, for one," said Batman at great length. "Walking, fighting skeletons. Apparently, Superman already tried to take care of some, they kept reassembling."

"Even when I ground them into a powder," Superman said. "Five seconds later they'd be back. To make things worse, they all wield swords. The pig things too. I incinerated them with my heat vision. You can't get rid of these things!"

"I encountered large blobs of colorful Jell-O," said Wonder Woman.

"Jell-O?" Robin asked. He'd never seen someone say "Jell-O" so seriously.

"That's what they looked like," said Diana. "But I could be wrong, I only had Jell-O once, with Flash. Yes, I could be wrong, the Jell-O we ate did not have eyes."

"Eyes?"

"Or a mouth. As the case with the skeletons and pigs, I could not defeat them."

"That's some powerful Jell-O," came out of Robin's mouth almost before it even registered in his brain. Batman regarded him sternly.

"This is serious, Robin," Batman said. "These creatures are hurting people and we are powerless to stop them."

"Sorry," he muttered. "Any idea what or who is behind this? Or even what's on the other side of the portals?"

"No," said Superman. "For all we know, the Easter Bunny ate some bad eggs, threw up and made those portals, and now the portals in turn are making the monsters."

"Easter Bunny?" Batman said in dry disbelief.

Superman raised his hands up. "I was trying to make an illustration that the boy could understand." Robin didn't know what was funnier.

"He's fifteen!" Batman roared. The fact that the world's most powerful champions were arguing over the Easter Bunny …

"So?" responded Superman. …Or the fact that Batman had actually said the words "Easter Bunny". Like "Jell-O" from Wonder Woman or "Cool" from Grandma, some words just did not fit in some people's mouths.

"Focus!" said Wonder Woman. "We must find a way to close the portals, we don't have time to argue about unimportant things amongst ourselves."

"How do we close them?" Robin ventured to ask.

"No idea," said Superman. "I guess we'll just have to find out when we get there. Until we do know, we need to keep the monsters in one area. I'll take the one fifty miles south of Metropolis. Batman, you might want to get the one that's beginning to open near Gotham."

"Be careful, Link!" Zelda called after him. Link was too tired to respond, so he lifted a weary hand and waved good-bye, before turning and running into the collapsing cave. For the last several weeks, he'd been chasing Gannon, without really knowing what he was up to. Zelda had a theory that he was collecting all the relicts to open a gateway to another world, and so Link had worked his tail off making sure he got all of them first.

And of course, what happened right after he'd found the last one. That's right, Gannon shows up and takes them all. Link knew he should have pointed out to Zelda that it wasn't smart to keep all of the relicts in the same room, but…

And now he was about half sure he was marching to his doom. Black energy pulled at his clothes, blinding him, threatening to push him over.

He heard laughter rising up from down the corridor. He summoned up every last ounce of courage he had in him and sped up, going towards the sound. Gannon was saying something, but he couldn't quite make out what.

Two of Gannon's henchmen guarded the door. If Link had the energy, he would have laughed. As if two guards would even slow him down. He raised his sword up to the heavens, it glowed white. At least, he saw it as white, Zelda claimed the "sacred light" was purple. He swung his bland in a horizontal arc. The two monsters dissipated in a black cloud of smoke before him.

He kicked open the door and rushed in. Perhaps he'd opened the door too hard, but as soon as he was in all the way, rubble fell from the ceiling and blocked his exit. At the moment, Link didn't care. He'd figure out how to get out after he'd dealt with Gannon. The madman was bent over a shallow pool of water. At least, Link said to himself, it looked as though it could be water…if you ignored that it was thick and red…

Link growled at him. A human skull rose to the surface of the…water…and Link fought the urge to vomit. He charged Gannon, jumping up, his sword held above his head. He swung, but Gannon raised his arms, sending out a blast of magic. The attacks hit at the same time, Gannon sent Link flying across the room, and Link had slashed Gannon across the eyes, making him cry out in pain.

Link somersaulted and landed neatly on his feet, already preparing for his next attack. But Gannon, face bleeding horribly, held up his arms and shouted a word that Link had never heard before. The word made the hair on Link's neck stand straight up. It was as though he couldn't move. The air itself was pushing down on him. He couldn't breathe. He sank to his knees, fighting for a breath. Out of the pool came a fog, thicker than any Link had ever seen, Gannon tossed an insult over his shoulder at the Goddess' knight, then he stepped into the pool, and was gone.

Link stumbled forward, the fog was beginning to be sucked back in. He knew as if by instinct, that if he didn't follow Gannon fast enough, he would never be able to stop him. By sheer will power he had gotten to his feet and he made it to the edge. He was about to jump in, when he saw the skull again. Bile rose up his throat, and the noble hero fainted, falling into the bloody pit.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Robin as they were drawing close to the portal.

"See if you can find any weaknesses on them," Batman said. "If that fails, see if you can corral them. If there get to be too many, or if I tell you to run, I want you to take the plane and go home. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir" Robin said. "What are you going to do?"

"Diana is going to take me up to the portal. We're going to find a way to close it, or at least where it's coming from."

"You're not going to go through it, are you?"

"If that's what it takes." Batman brought the Bat Plane down. It was the middle of nowhere, but near a highway. There were pig people with wicked looking swords running around half naked in loin cloths. The monsters were being dropped out of the portal a few at a time, but the numbers were growing rapidly. They were chasing cars, it looked like. A small bunch had managed to catch one and had begun to carry it off.

"Robin," Batman began to say.

"I see them, Boss," Robin untangled himself from his seat and climbed out of the plane. He ran towards the civilians being carried off by the monsters, but something made him pause for a moment and look back at Batman and Wonder Woman. Diana was carrying Bruce by the gauntlet towards the opening in the sky. Robin allowed himself a smile, knowing how much Batman hated traveling like that.

"HELP!" a scream from the car brought him back to the situation at hand. Robin jumped then sped off to help.

As Wonder Woman carried him off, Batman stole a glance at his ward. Diana saw it, and patted his arm. "He's a good boy. He'll be alright." Batman grunted in reply. He watched as Robin stopped running and looked back at him. They were too far apart for Batman to see the expression on the young man's face, but he knew Robin too well to think the boy was afraid.

They were climbing higher and higher into the atmosphere. From the ground, the portal looked huge. From close up, it looked monstrous. It reeked of human decay and blood. The air was tense with electricity and magic. A lightning bolt flashed, cutting the air near where they flew. Diana gasped and dodged around it.

She looked back at where they had almost been electrocuted, not paying attention to where they were flying. "Diana!" Batman shouted. Diana snapped her head back around front ways, but it was too late. Batman thought he heard Robin cry out as a large man with red hair and a full magician's robe crashed into them, knocking them out of the sky.

Run Batman thought as monsters began to pour harder than ever. A pig man with a club snarled and lashed at him, knocking him in the back of the head.

An unidentifiable instinct in Robin's gut told him to look up. And so he did, just as Batman fell out of the sky. "BRUCE!" he cried out running to where he would hit the ground. Wonder Woman had regained her balance and was chasing after Batman. Robin relaxed just a little, knowing that Batman would be alright, for the moment anyway. A pig person brought a sword down at him. Robin smacked him across the face with his staff, but the sword caught his wig, ripping it off his head, showing the blonde. Twirling it above his head, he jumped and struck three more in rapid succession.

Then a meaty hand grabbed the back of his uniform. "You were foolish to follow me here, boy," the owner of the hand growled at him. It tossed him several yards, he used his staff to regain his balance and land on his feet. There, a huge, redheaded man in a dress stood at least eight feet tall. There was a long cut across his eyes, like someone had taken a knife to it. It was pouring blood, splattering it onto the ground.

"Ha!' He snorted in laughter. "Lost your pretty little blade, have you hero!" he spat out. "Looks like you won't be any good against my minions. Get him!" For a second, Robin would have sworn that the pig people looked confused. Then they seemed to shrug to one another, then they ran after him. Robin did his best to fight them off, but there were literally hundreds, and none of them would stay down. They gripped him by his arms and legs, one grabbed his staff, broke it above its head and tossed it away. Another began to chew on his cape, ripping it off the rest of his uniform before spitting it out. They seemed to be curious about his utility belt. One tried to pull it off, and received and electric shock for its efforts. Thankfully, it allowed Robin to break free…momentarily. It wasn't long before they caught him again. They got smart and used their swords to saw it off his body, cutting through some skin in the process, Tim yelled in pain.

The man chortled to himself, raising a hand to Tim's face he muttered something Tim couldn't make out. A ball of black energy shot from hit palm, he felt his mask fly off his face just before everything went dark.

"Bruce! Bruce, wake up!" Diana shook him. The portal was gone. He wondered how that could be, and if Robin did it. Robin. He sat up quickly.

"Where is he," he said, hating the slur in his voice. He stood up, ignoring the pain that was pulsing all through his body. "Where's Robin?" Diana had no answer. Bruce surveyed the area. It was as though the portal fell apart and landed on the earth below. Purple fog and black debris floated through the air.

Batman strained his vision, searching for any sign of his young partner. He saw a flash of green through the smog. "Robin!" he cried out. He ran towards him. As he got closer, he could make out a head of blonde, shaggy hair. He supposed the wig must have gotten torn off his head in a fight. His throat tightened as he saw that the boy was face down, and not moving.

He was nearly there, when he realized the body lying there was not Robin. The uniform, though much the same color, was a completely different style. Chain mail could be seen under thick green, woolen fabric. His boots looked like worn, but real, leather, as did the boy's gloves. Near his left arm, a gleaming white-silver, jeweled sword stuck out of the ground, on his right arm lay a purple and silver, heavy shield that had a strange bird designed fashioned out of the metal. On the lad's head was what Batman recognized as a Frisian Cap, made of the same heavy, green fabric as the rest of his uniform.

Batman stopped running, just seven feet away from the boy. Diana stopped with him. "That's not Robin," he said softly. Diana moved over to the unmoving form. She turned him gently over. The face was youthful, bright and innocent. He looked about Robin's age. Maybe a year or two older. He was short, slight of build, he had an angular, thin, sort of face. It made him look elfin. It was as he thought that, that he noticed the boy's ears. They were long, very long, and pointed at the end. He really did loot like an elf. Batman supposed he must have fallen out of the portal. Dragged out with the monsters. He couldn't believe this child was the cause of the damage. Or perhaps he had been trying to stop the man who had caused it.

Batman knelt beside him and checked for a pulse. He was alive and unharmed. "Get him back to the plane," he said. "I'm going to look for Robin."

Normally, if anyone had tried to order Wonder Woman around, she would have reacted indignantly and angrily. But this was Batman, and it concerned his son. So she obeyed without a word, biting down her rebellious retort.

Batman continued through the field, toward the highway where he had last seen Robin. There were no longer any monsters to be seen. There was no sign of the man either. Once he was at the road, he stopped walking and looked around him carefully. He had seen the plane when he had ran towards the other boy, so Tim couldn't have taken off, unless he had defied orders and waited in the Plane for him. Batman hoped that was the case.

He saw something moving in the swirling shadows. He strode towards it, not taking his eyes off it as he went. He was walking, and then he was running, faster and faster as he realized what it was.

It was Robin's cape, torn and bloodied, caught on a fragment of his staff and flapping in the wind like a flag. The boy's utility belt was covered in blood and scattered around in pieces. Batman picked up the small, green domino mask. One of the lenses was shattered. He let out an anguished cry.

"Bruce!" Wonder Woman called out through the fog. Batman didn't answer her. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't move. He gripped the mask so tightly that it hurt. The force that it would take to break one of those lenses…The blood all around him was stained with blood.

A lot of blood.

Diana was by his side, asking what the matter was, when she saw the carnage. "Oh, Bruce," his fists were trembling. "His body isn't here," she managed to get out, but her voice was quivering. "There's still a chance." She told him. He nodded once, firmly. And rose swiftly to his feet.

He would find Robin. And he had a feeling that the boy they found knew something about the monsters that took Robin from him. "Has the child woken up yet?"

"No," she said as she flew to keep up with Batman's determined strides. "It looks as though he is wounded. His breathing sounds shallow."

"Let's get him to the cave," Batman said as they reached the Plane, he climbed in. "Get him fixed up, and hopefully he'll know something about the man that took Robin."

"Do you think that the man controls the monsters?" Diana asked him.

"I do." He guided the plane as quickly as he could to the Bat Cave, every now and then looking over at the boy. This breathing was ragged, as though every breathe hurt and rattled around in his rib cage. He saw that Diana had replaced the sword in the boy's scabbard, which hung on his back, and the shield over the scabbard. He wasn't sure whether this was a good idea or not.

They touched down in the dark cave. Batman opened the hatch and picked up the youth, carrying him out of the Plane and deeper into the cave. Placing the lad down on a table, where normally Bruce would be patching up Tim, or Alfred would be sewing up Bruce. He removed the sword and shield from the boy and placed it on a counter nearby. He ran scans on him, trying to isolate what was wrong with him. There didn't seem to be anything. Bruce placed a breather over the boy's mouth and nose, turning up the oxygen level. Batman left him like that, Diana hovering in the air, not sure what to do, as Batman turned to a computer onto the news. All the portals everywhere had closed, and the monsters had vanished. There was nothing about the man he had seen.

"Report back to Watch Tower," Batman told Wonder Woman. "Tell them what happened, see if there is anything they can do to find Robin."

Batman walked back to the boy, whose breathing seemed to have eased up. His head slumped over to one side, the mask got pushed a little off center. Batman adjusted it as he heard Alfred approach.

"Did the young master get hurt?" he asked, only seeing a glimpse of shaggy hair.

"Yes, Alfred," Batman whispered. "He did." Alfred hurried closer. He stopped suddenly when he saw it was not his 'young master' who lay there.

"But, where is he? And who is this?" he asked.

"I don't know the answer to either of those questions," Batman told him before outlining the events of the evening. Alfred's hand went to his throat as Batman vividly described what he saw that was left of the Boy Wonder.

"But you found no body?" Alfred said. "He could still be alive." Batman nodded.

"There was no clue as to where he went. I have no idea who it was that took him, and I'm hoping that this boy might have a few answers." Batman peered over the youth.

The boy's eyes flew opened and he screamed.

Batman jumped back in surprise. The boy struggled to pull off the mask and wires attached to him. He fell off the table and moaned. He stood back up, facing away from the two men. Batman and Alfred look at each other, both unsure of what to do. Alfred started to walk towards the lad, but Batman held him back. The boy turned around to see a giant black monster holding tightly onto an old man's shoulder. It looked as though its claws were digging into the old man's skin.

The boy looked around for something, seeing his sword he made a mad dash for it. Batman anticipated the move and got to it first. The boy looked panicked for a moment, but with a yell he rolled, yes, rolled, into Batman's legs, knocking him over, sending the sword flying out of his hands.

The boy caught the sword out of midair while executing an impressive flip, and was about to drive it into Batman's chest. Alfred wailed in an agony of fear. Then the sword more or less beeped and glowed purple. The boy stopped the blade a centimeter or less above Batman. A nearly transparent young girl, dressed all in purple and blue, rose up out of the sword's hilt jewel. No, Batman realized, not dressed in purple, she was purple.

"Master," she said. "I have been watching over you since we fell into this strange world. I do not know much, but I do know that this being is not a monster, but a man wearing strange garb. He means you no harm. He brought you here, to what I assume is him home, and brought to back to full health. From what I have seen, I highly suggest that you do not anger him." The swords beeped again, and the girl was gone. This seemed to satisfy the boy, who put the sword away. He held out a hand to Batman, which Batman took. With a surprisingly strong grip, he pulled Batman to his feet.

The boy smiled at him. It was a genuine smile, with a hint of sheepishly-amused apology in it. He then turned and looked at Alfred for a long while, then around at the cave. Then, with another smile at Batman, he began to walk off.

Batman grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "And where do you think you're going?" The boy seemed to think about this for a moment, frowning, then he shrugged.

"So, you're in a huge, formerly unknown world to you, you have no idea where you are, or what you're doing, and you're just going to walk off by yourself until you happen upon what you're looking for?" The boy gave him wide smile and a half shrug that for all the world seemed to say "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Are you mute?" Alfred asked the boy. The boy furrowed his eyebrows, not looking like he understood the question. "No," Alfred answered himself. "You couldn't be. I heard you scream."

The boy gave a bashful grin. This boy seemed to smile a lot, Bruce thought to himself. "What is your name?" he said to the boy.

"Link," said the youth immediately, holding out a hand. Batman took it cautiously. The boy shook it warmly, then he began to walk off again. Batman grabbed him once more. The boy grinned, the largest grin Batman had seen on him yet. He realized that the boy was just playing with him now. He was wasting valuable time that could be used to find Tim, but, for some reason, he couldn't get mad at him. "What's your name?" Link asked him. Link had a strange accent that sounded vaguely Japanese.

"Batman" Batman replied. Link raised an eyebrow. "I am called Batman, anyway."

"What's your name?" Link asked him again.

"I am only called Batman," Batman said once more, making his voice sound as deep and intimidating as possible. When he spoke like this to even Superman, the person he was addressing, and everyone else in the room, usually tended to back off. But not this boy.

"What's. Your. Name?" Link tried to copy his tone, but comically failed.

"That's a secret," Batman told him in a sinister hiss. "I am only called Batman." Link didn't seem the least bit moved by this. He just stood there with a wry expression on his face.

"I'll call you Chub-Chub," said Link cheerfully. Alfred gave a sort of surprised laugh, but then he forced a coughing fit to cover it up. Even Batman was taken aback by this statement. Never, in all his years, had he ever been called "Chub-Chub". "Good-bye, Chub-Chub," said Link. "I need to find Gannon before he blows up the planet and eats your young." Link wasn't really sure where this statement came from, he'd just thought it sounded funny at the time. But when the man who stood before him staggered backwards a couple steps and gripped his stomach, he knew he'd said something wrong. Man, he must really be sensitive about his weight.

"Sorry," said Link looking at him in confusion. "I guess you're not that fat." Batman shook his head. "Or was it the part about Gannon. Yeah, I don't think he really eats people…at least I've never seen him actually, I know his minions do…but…he does used them for potions and spells…and stuff." Link felt a wave of nausea as he recalled the pool of human remains. "I need to find him quickly, kill him, and bring his spirit back to his prison."

Batman rushed forward and gripped Link by the shoulders. "What does this 'Gannon' do to humans?" Link's eyes widened in fear and he pulled backward. Batman refused to let go. "TELL ME!" he shook the boy.

Link's eyes filled with tears. "H-hard to…" Link looked down at his feet. "Horrible," he said. "Fear for your loved ones," he said in a tone much too sorrowful and sagely to belong to any boy. The way he said it made Batman's skin grow cold.

"How old are you?" Batman asked, releasing him.

"In this life," he said. "I am seventeen, but I have been told, that within me is the spirit of the hero. And the spirit of the hero has been reincarnated again and again for eons. I, the goddess, and the demon are forced to relive our lives again, and again, and again. The demon to destroy, the goddess to restore, the hero to fight, to save, to die." Link seemed to have grown taller, more wolf-like "A curse was placed upon the three of us by the demon in our second life cycle. That cycle was brought about by the goddesses promise, meant only for good."

"So, if you are the hero," said Batman. "I'm guessing that makes Gannon the demon." A nod from Link. "But then, who is the goddess?" The old Link was back in a flash, a goofy grin on his face as he uttered one word.

"Zelda," he said. Batman drew closer and looked Link in the eye.

"Listen," he said quietly. "A portal opened in the sky today. I, my friend, and my son who is about your age, went to see if we could stop the monsters that were pouring out of it. My son went to go help some people who were being attacked, while I and my friend went up to the portal to see if we could close it. A man with red hair, wearing a long magician's robe, fell and struck us down. When I came to, my son was gone, and you were there. All that I found of my son, was bloody bits of his clothing and his weapon. My friend went to go see if she could find him, but so far, no luck. Do you have any idea what could have happened."

The grin was gone, he was all business now. "Do you have a painting of your son?"

"Yes," said Batman. "It's a…magic…painting." He led Link over to the Bat Computer, and brought up and image of Tim smiling with Connor. They had stolen Bruce's phone that day and used it to take a bunch of random selfies. What Tim and Connor didn't know was that Bruce had saved all of them. Now looking at the Link and Tim, side by side, it was remarkable how much they looked alike. The only difference being the hair, Link's eyes being blue instead of brown, and Link's ears.

Link merely grunted. He reached for his shield and sheath, pulled both onto his back, and tapped the jewel on the hilt of his sword, which he still held. It flashed and beeped, the girl appeared again. "Fi," he told Batman. Batman assumed it was her name.

"How may I help you, Master?" she asked. Link gestured at the 'magic picture'. "The boy, son of Batman, is very similar to you in many ways." Link made in impatient gesture, like he already knew that. "Not only in looks," Fi said "but in personality, spirit and courage." The last word seemed to take Link by surprise. "Yes, Master. While on our planet, your courage in unrivaled by any, this boy, this Tim is equally qualified to yield the Triforce of Courage." This made Link frown. "Master," she said almost gently. "I am not saying that coming into the world has made you a coward, I am merely stating facts, as is my duty. This world, like our world, has three individuals who are worthy to take hold of the Triforce. The one who can bear the Triforce of Wisdom stands next to you. The one of Power is not far away.

"Master, while you were sleeping I saw Gannon fall from the sky and collide with the Batman. When he landed, he saw the son of Batman. Because of the wound you inflicted to his eyes, he could not see the physical body of the boy, but his aura, which is nearly identical to yours. Mistaking the boy for you, he and his minions carried Tim off. If it were any other boy this would only be a tragedy, not a threat. Unfortunately, I detect a large chance that he will attempt to use the boy to make himself worthy of bearing the Triforce. Once he has infused himself with the spirit of the child, he will realize that he was mistaken, and will come after you. But, this time, if you are beaten, he will be able to tear the Triforce from your soul." Link did not look worried, now he looked angry.

"Zelda?" he asked.

"I predict that once the spirit maiden discovers that you are missing, she will order the magicians of the realm to recreate the spell that sent you here." Link groaned and pulled at his hair with his fists.

"Why come here?" he asked Fi. She was silent for a while, not moving.

"I have no further data," she said before shrinking back into the sword. Link gritted his teeth. He looked at Batman.

"I do not know where Gannon took your son," he said. "But you seem as though you are a man of royal blood, and therefore have men at your command," Batman nodded. "Please, place a guard over where I fell to this planet for a young girl with golden hair." Link paused for a moment. "You may want to warn your magicians to cast a sleeping spell on her immediately, she will no doubt try to kill everybody."

Batman nodded. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I need to see if I can contact an old friend," he said. "I don't know if it is going to work, but I must try, and he has never failed me before. How far is the place where I fell?"

"Three miles that way," Batman pointed to the west. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Walk?"

"If I must" came the determined reply. "You may be surprised as to how fast I can cover ground." Batman shook his head.

"I'll take you there and contact my people on the way. Just know this, Link, on this planet there are things that you will not understand, and I'm not going to take the time to explain them." Link nodded as though this was expected.

Wow, I'm really sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've been really busy working on my other story, Eleven-Teen Again. I'll try to keep up with this story, too. No, Link isn't contacting Tingle, AlexMeyers1320….yet, anyway. Thanks to you, too, Chips for your reviews. And I've always kind of thought Link acted way younger than he was portrayed. However, maybe it would be a good idea to make him younger. I think I'll fix that….

May the gods be ever in your favor,

~Sondra

Link did not look very surprised when the Plane took off. His only remark was "On my home island, we ride on the birds. Not inside them." Batman felt a slight smile that he would never show.

Batman contacted Watch Tower, and then retreated into his regular practice of brooding when he was upset. After half a minute of complete silence, Batman asked "Gannon won't kill Tim?" Link frowned and shook his head.

"Not right away, I don't think," he said. "He may take time to heal himself first. That is going to take a little while, he will have to find ingredients." Link shuddered and made a disgusted face. "People will die," he said this as a matter of fact. "But Tim is relatively safe for now."

"Why do you say that people will die?" Batman asked him. Link took a little while to answer, he was looking away from Batman, out the window.

"He kills people for sport," he spat out, leaning his head against the window. "His minions kill people for sustenance. He slaughters for his spells. He sends his hoards to devour villages. He…" Link stopped talking.

"You said that you are seventeen," Batman said. Link nodded. "You're forced to play the role of hero?" another nod. "There's no escaping this?" Nod "How long have you had to be your world's savior?"

"Since I was fourteen, nearly fifteen," he said, still talking to the window. "Why?"

"Your parents," Batman faltered as he saw Link stiffen. "They're just okay with you risking your life for the world?"

"Your son," Link retorted, he sounded angry. "You let him risk his life. He could be dead now as we speak!" Tears sprang into the young man's eyes as soon as the words left his mouth. He slumped down. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should not have said that." They were both silent for a while, then Link spoke back up. "Gannon's creatures ate my parents when I was small. I found work as a servant in the king's palace. That's where I met Zelda. She's the princess. One day, monsters attacked worse than ever before. People started speaking of the Goddess' hero, and how he always reappeared when the world needed him most. And then, I awoke to Fi. She led me to the sword, claimed me as her master. I had a vision of the Goddess, who happened to look exactly like Zelda. I told the King, who made a proclamation. Some people took me to be the lost hero. Others took me to have eaten bad cheese before bed the night before. Ever since then, I have trained harder than anyone to be the most powerful knight in the King's army. One day, I am to be his successor. I like to believe that this is what my parents would have wanted me to do…"

Batman said nothing else, only feeling the deepest sympathy and empathy for a child who had to watch his parents die in the cruelest way possible. He wordlessly patted Link's shoulder as they landed. "We're here." He said opening it up.

Link nodded and jumped out. The shroud of darkness was dissipating, but it could still be clearly seen. Link made his way to the middle of it. Batman followed him. Link took out his sword and drove it into the ground. Then he knelt, and clasped his hands and closed his eyes in prayer. His mouth moved wordlessly. Then he was still, his forehead creased in concentration. A beam of light shot out of the sword's hilt. A hole opened in the heavens. Link stood, brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a long, clear whistle.

A bird's caw pierced the sky. A fiery red bird, nearly as big as the Bat Plane dove out from the new portal just as it closed. Like smiled wide as he pulled the sword from the dirt and stuck it in his sheath. The bird landed gracefully in front of him. Link ran forward and hugged the bird's neck. "I knew you'd come!" he said, his voice muffled by feathers. The bird called out again before nuzzling the boy's hair with its beak.

"What is that?" Batman asked Link. Link walked over to Batman and took hold of the Dark Knight's hand, leading a surprised Batman over to the bird. Link placed Batman's hand on the bird's beak. The bird purred, or at least it vibrated.

"This is Epona," said Link. "He's my Crimson Loftwing. It is said that he's identical to the Loftwing belonging to the first and second hero. King Gapora thinks there is a possibility that he is truly the same."

"And you ride him?" Batman asked. "What good is he?"

"Yes, I ride him," said Link. "He will help fight. I need him, because he is a gift from the Goddess that gives me power. I am stronger when I am closest to him and to Fi. I will help you find Tim now. I'm guessing, as his father, you have something that belongs to him on your person?"

Batman nodded, leading the way back to the plane. In the back of the plane, among a plethora of fast-food garbage that Tim had left in there since the last time Alfred had cleaned the plane, was one of Tim's staffs. Batman picked it up, looking at it with something like heart-ache in his eyes before handing it to Link.

"May I ask what this is, Batman?" Link asked him, taking the graceful staff in his hands, taking in the carved designs in the wood.

"A weapon I made for my son," there was confusion in his eyes. "I know you fight mindless monsters, animals really, but I and my son take care of bad people. In our world, we don't believe that the…knights, have the right to take lives. Only to capture and bring to the prisons. Because of this, we use weapons that do not kill. This is called a Bo staff. Tim's favorite kind of weapon. Though he mainly used this one for practice."

Link smiled and tapped his sword's hilt. Fi came out immediately and took up the staff in her slender hands. "Master. You can now dowse for the boy. He clearly loved this object, therefore it is knit to his soul. I can tell that neither Tim nor Gannon is in this area. He must have teleported, taking the son of Batman with him." She shrank back into the sword.

"What?" asked Batman. Link pulled his sword out from his sheath. He held it so that he was pointing the tip of the blade out.

"Fi, the spirit of my sword, can lead me to objects once she has examined a related object. This is called dowsing." Link walked around, his eyes closed, waving his sword around him. He suddenly stopped and looked up at Batman. "He is this way, very far." He was looking to the east. "I will ride Epona and show you the way." Batman nodded, reaching into his belt, he pulled out something that looked like a bean. He gently put it in Links ear.

"This is called a communicator," Batman explained as Link poked at it. He just realized why he couldn't get mad at this boy. Fi was right, he was just like Tim. "Whatever you say, I will be able to hear. Whatever I say, you will know." Link nodded and patted Batman's arm before mounting his Loftwing. Epona spread his graceful wings and beat them hard, rising off the ground.

They were flying over the ocean. Batman wondered if he should contact Watch Tower, but decided against it. If an army charged in on Gannon, he could simply teleport again, or kill Tim. "Link," Batman said. "You asked me what my name was. Well, it's Bruce, but in this world, people like you and me have to hide our names so that our loved ones don't get hurt."

"Bruce," Link tried it out. "I don't understand. If changing your name is to prevent people from knowing who you love, why do you take those who you love with you into danger?" There was no malice in this question, Batman sensed. He simply wanted to understand.

"I don't" Batman tried to explain. "Not all of them, anyway. My son is special. I'm training him to take my place when he's older." Batman sighed. "I should never have let him come with me."

"You could not have known about Gannon," Link tried to comfort him. "Fi said that your son is brave. I know that he'll be alright." Batman sighed, wishing he could be as certain.

"Tell me about Zelda," Batman said. He needed to keep his thoughts off of Tim. Also, he wanted to be certain that Link was alright while they flew apart. He heard the boy sigh again at the mention of her name.

"The princess," he said. "The possessor of the Triforce of Wisdom. She is a good ruler, always putting her people before herself. She's curious, always getting into trouble to find things out. She can spend hours pouring over old books, or climbing a mountain to see what was at the top. She's mean." Link added as an afterthought. "To me anyway. And bossy. As the King's heir, we're to be married if I survive to my twenty-fifth year."

"If you survive?" Batman asked. Link was silent for several moments. "Link?"

"Many heroes do not," Link said. "It is said, that after defeated the demon, they always disappear. So, not necessarily die. There was one, the one called the Hero of Time, he died as a child. Disappeared I mean, no bodies are ever found."

"Disappeared, huh?" Batman mused, looking at the young boy from his window. "What is the Triforce I heard you talking about?"

"It was something made by the three old Goddesses. I should probably explain about them first. There is Faron, Din and Nayru. Faron, my patron goddess, is goddess of courage. Din of power and Nayru of wisdom. They created the beautiful goddess Hylia, protector of the humans. Zelda, she is Hylia reincarnated as a human. After they made Hylia, Zelda supposes they were bored, and so they made the Triforce, because there was never an explanation for its creation given." Link flew close to the plane. "I will show you, open the thing you fly in." Batman opened the hatch and Link jumped in next to him. He pulled off his shield and put his finger to a strange mark of three triangles stacked on top of each other.

"This is what it looks like," said Link. "There is one Triforce for each or courage, power and wisdom. Only those who are worthy of each gift can touch the individual Triforce, and only he who is worthy to hold all three can possess the completed form. The demon is powerful, and hungers to grow more powerful. He has the Triforce of power, which makes him even stronger." Link sighed. Batman noticed how tired he was beginning to look. "Zelda, she loves Wisdom, she believes that knowledge and knowing how to use it is the key to everything. And I, I must be brave at all times, even when I am afraid. Because if I act on my fear, people may die, and I will anger the king. I must not ever admit, even to myself, of my fears. I have to keep going, always. But this is why I sometimes doubt that I am the hero." He looks up at Batman. "Being brave is hard for me. But Wisdom to Zelda is as necessary as air, and power is like bread for Gannon." Link sighed once more, looking even more tired. "Oh," he said. "I have not told you what the completed Triforce does. By themselves, the singular Triforces give you their gifts, but together, if you are worthy, you may have whatever your heart desires. Be it lunch or to shape reality. You get whatever it is that you want most in the whole world. This is why Zelda had to give me a sandwich, before I absorbed it." Link chuckled a bit.

"You have the Triforce?" Batman asked him.

Link frowned. "I did, at one point, but it is too strong to hold all three for long. Besides, Zelda was scared to think what would happen if I always got my desires. For instance, after I vanquished Gannon's army the first time, I got thirsty and wanted water. I accidently flooded the valley." Batman smiled. "I have the Triforce of courage in me. Gannon has power from when he defeated me yesterday," Link looked utterly ashamed. "Zelda has Wisdom." Link looked up at Batman. "I'm sorry," there were tears in his eyes. They were blood-shot, his hands were shaking. "If I was not so weak, your son would be safe, and Gannon would be dead. But now, if he eats your son, and then defeats me again, he will have two of the three Triforce." Link sniffled. "Zelda will follow me. If he eats you, and then kills her, he will shape reality and destroy the foundations of eternity." Batman stopped the plane, making it hover.

"Link," Batman said gently. "When was the last time you slept? And when I brought you to my home doesn't count. That couldn't have been for more than fifteen minutes." Link shrugged. Batman pulled off his cape and spread it over the boy. "You just stay in here for now, your bird will follow. Sleep." Batman passed his hand over Link's shaggy hair, before resuming the flight.

"You don't know where you are going," Link weakly protested.

"I'll keep going in this direction for another hour or so, and then I'll wake you up," Batman lied. He planned on letting Link sleep for as long as he needed. Link needed to be at full strength for when he fought Gannon, otherwise, it wasn't just Tim who would die. It was everybody. Half of him felt guilty for this, but he knew it was the best way. "And when you wake up, you and I are going to find something to eat." Link smiled. Then frowned, he was already falling asleep.

"Your son…"

"I trust him to stay alive. But if you go fight Gannon like this, you'll lose. Being this worn is probably why you lost before." Driven unconsciously by the similarities between Link and Tim, Bruce leaned forward and pressed his lips to Link's brow. "Sleep." Link gazed at him through half open eyes for a few seconds. Tears dripped from his lashes as he drifted off.

Link awoke to find the sun had set. His head was leaning against Batman's shoulder. The older man was talking to somebody through his communicator. Or at least, that's what Link assumed. He could have been talking to himself. Link drew the cape closer, enjoying the feeling of warmth and peace he felt, despite knowing the chaos that lied not far ahead. He'd pretend to sleep a little longer.

Tim fought the urge to cry. For the past several hours, he's watched countless people be devoured by the pigs. The red-haired man occasionally grabbing a piece of the carnage and tossing it into a cauldron that bubbled over a fire. Tim didn't know what was going on, he only knew that this man thought that Tim was somebody else. The man had wounds on his eyes. He was trying to heal himself, but he was short on ingredients.

Every now and then, Gannon was check to see if Tim was still there, chained to the wall. For the most part, though, Gannon left him alone. Tim was tired, but he couldn't sleep. He hurt where the monsters had bit, clawed and cut him. His head pounded. And his heart ached for Bruce. He wondered why he hadn't come by now, he hoped that his master was okay. He slowly reached into his boot and pulled out a couple lock-picks.

Tim tried to pick it as quietly as he could, he winced at every little noise he made. He was only thankful that the pigs were too busy eating to notice him.

Bruce had parked the plane above an abandoned building, camouflaging it. Link's bird was nowhere in sight. He was dressed in his civilian clothes, and he had some of Dick's and Tim's old clothes that he'd found in the plane for Link. He shook the boy, trying to wake him up. Link rubbed his eyes, looking up at Bruce. He gasped and struggled to get away. Bruce gripped him in a firm bear-hug, realizing that Link didn't recognize him.

"Link, it's me. Bruce." Link stopped fighting him. "We're going to go get some food, but you can't be dressed like that, you'd attract too much attention." Bruce handed him the outfit. "Change in here real quick."

Five minutes later, Link came out, looking like a normal boy. He smiled at Bruce, it was then that Bruce noticed he still had his sword strapped to his back, and his cap still on his head.

"Link," he tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. "You can't wear those."

"Please Bruce," he asked. "This sword was made by the goddess. It's the one of the only things that can kill the monsters. If Gannon gets it than I won't be able to stop him." His eyes were pleading.

"Fine," said Bruce. "But take off the hat."

Bruce was impressed. Link had managed to consume enough food to feed a family of five for three weeks, as well as enough soda to drown Aquaman.

And he was still going. Bruce watched him fondly as Link mowed down on a plate of spaghetti. His face was covered in food. "When was the last time you ate?" asked Bruce, taking up a napkin and wiping the boy's face.

"Since before Gannon appeared a few weeks ago. Since then, all I've had is potions and healing fruit." Link stuck out his tongue, than he began to viciously attack a basket of rolls.

"Link," Bruce said, placing a hand on Link's shoulder. "I've been think about what you said, about the heroes all disappearing. What if it's because they find something better?"

Link looked up, he clearly didn't understand where Bruce was going with this statement. Bruce shuffled his feet awkwardly. When he didn't say anything, much to Bruce's amusement, Link actually shrugged and kept eating. About fifteen minutes later, Link, sighing in contentment, dropped his fork and picked up his glass and sucked on the straw.

Brace ran his fingers through Link's hair, thinking about Tim, wondering where he was. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Link, who smiled and nodded. Bruce hailed a waiter and received the check. Link suddenly looked very self-aware.

"How much?" he asked Bruce.

"What?"

"How much did I cost?" Link asked again. "I saw that you ate hardly anything." Bruce smiled kindly and shook his head before drawing out his wallet. "Bruce?"

"It's fine, Link," he assured him. "I can handle it." Link frowned and shook his head, before reaching into a pocket of his borrowed jeans, and drew out a draw-string pouch. Link reached in and pulled out two red jewels and a blue one.

"Forty-five," Link dropped the gems into Bruce's hand. "Is this enough?" Bruce looked at them curiously. They were all about the size of dime. Bruce knew enough about jewels to know that they weren't fake.

"Forty-five what?" Bruce asked him.

"Rupees," Link looked confused. The sword beeped, and suddenly Bruce was afraid that Fi would jump out of the sword. But Link only tilted his head like he was listening intently, and nodded. "You use different currency in this world." He acknowledged.

Bruce ruffled the boy's hair again before handing the gems back. "Keep these. I've got no use for them." Link smiled.

"Where can I buy potions?" Link asked. "I still have several, but it would be best to stock up before going into battle. Is there a shop in the city nearby?"

Bruce's brows furrowed. "We don't use potions in this world." He told Link. "At least, most people don't. I'm not sure if the potions that are here are the kind you're thinking about." Link looked worried.

"Is there a fairy fountain, then?" he asked. Bruce shook his head. The crease in Link's brow deepened. "What do you use to replenish your health in battle?"

"We don't," Bruce said. "Those potions sound handy. Do you know how to make them? I could gather supplies for you."

Link shook his head. "I'm sorry. I-I'm sure it will be fine. With you there. If you can survive without potions, then I can to." Bruce recognized the set determination in Link's features and patted his hand. "Let us go," Link said, grabbing a leftover roll and shoving it in his pocket. "We mustn't keep Gannon waiting."

Link and Bruce took turned changing one more in the Bat Plane. One the hero was once again clad in green, he let out a low whistle. Bruce didn't hear or see Link's bird. He turned to point this out to Link, when the young man threw himself from the top of the building.

"LINK!" Batman cried in horror. He pulled out his grapple, praying that there was time to reach the boy before he hit asphalt, when a red shadow fell from the sky and plummeted towards Link. In a moment, Link reappeared, sitting on top of Epona. "What was that?" Bruce demanded. Link, honestly, looked confused. He wore the same expression that Tim did when he had absolutely no clue why Bruce was mad, but was ashamed anyway. Bruce inwardly cringed. They'd wasted a lot of time. They needed to get back to looking for Robin.

Once they were both in the air, Bruce noticed that Epona was flying faster. He watched the way that Link would cling to the bird with his legs, pull out his sword and gage where to fly next, then urge the bird faster. Twenty minutes into the flight, and Link seemed to get bored. Bruce's heart almost died on him when Link flipped off his bird the first time. Only to whistle and have Epona catch him, rising fast on the air currents.

"Cut that out," Bruce told him through the communicator after the tenth time.

"Why?" asked his cheeky voice. "Aww, is Chub-Chub worried?" Bruce smiled, glad that Link couldn't see him. "Bruce," Link suddenly spoke up again.

"Yes, Link?"

"You said…that the hero might not have come back…because he found something better?"

"Yes." Bruce held his breath, daring himself to even want this. He had three boys already, and god knew they kept him busy.

"And you are of royal blood?"

"I suppose."

"Would you allow me to be…your knight?" Bruce suddenly felt warm.

"That could be arranged," Bruce told him, already mentally trying to figure out how to explain this to Tim.


End file.
